Transcript
SPEAKER
Like all of the organs of the body, the brain is made up from a very large number of tiny components termed ‘cells’. The brain contains billions of cells. So let’s probe within the structure of the brain to see them.
The foreground here shows one type of cell that will be of particular interest, the neuron, seen against a background made up of billions of other cells. Neurons come in various shapes and sizes and correspondingly serve various functions. Let’s focus on neurons of the kind highlighted here.
The role of neurons is communication of information and control. The yellow flashes represent pulses of electricity used by neurons to transmit information. The neuron has components. There’s a cell body, from which protrude a number of fine structures termed ‘dendrites’. Note the particularly long extension from the cell body. This is called an ‘axon’.